Bump Watch: 15 Weeks

*This is a catch-up post, drafted before I shared the Big News with the world.  I started out with the idea that I'd wear the same black wrap dress throughout these weekly photos, but we'll see how long that lasts.   And a big THANK YOU to everyone who left congratulatory notes on this blog, twitter, and instagram!  It's so much fun sharing this with you!

After a drawn-out bout with a sinus infection over the holidays, I thought I was done being sick for a good long while. I get sick maybe once every two years; my robust immune system is a source of pride for me. Until now. Turns out that sinus infection wasn't a fluke but rather a sign of things to come: I somehow managed to catch a stomach bug this week, and have been living on diluted white grape juice and dry white toast.

A brief consult with Reference Materials revealed that pregnancy suppresses a woman's immune system so that her body doesn't expel the bebe. Did you know that? I most certainly did not. Add that to the ever-growing list of things no one bothers to tell you until you're actually knocked-up. On the upside, it's rare for us to have processed carbs around the house, and I'm really enjoying my dry white toast.

Weeks cooking: 15

Weeks remaining: 25

Size of Baby: The little person in there is about the size of a LARGE NAVAL ORANGE.  Wow.  I remember when my little sister was here in early December and went to my third ultrasound {at eight weeks} with me.  The bebe was about one centimeter.  7 weeks later, and we've got an orange! In other prenatal news, he/she can wiggle its fingers and toes, and is making breathing movements.  It's also having daily aerobics sessions, but I can't feel them yet.

Weight Gain: About 4lbs. All in my boobs, pretty sure.  And at least 3 pounds of that are directly attributable to the holidays.  Let's just say SOMEONE fed us like royalty for 2 weeks straight {thanks, Mom!}. I honestly thought I might get gout.

Maternity Clothes: None, yet.  The "bump," such as it is, looks more like I had a large dinner than evidence of pregnancy.  My skinny jeans are getting tight in the tummy, though. 

Symptoms:  Getting every illness that looks at me funny {see above}.  This is very strange for me, since I'm not a sickly person.  Also, I appear to have a chronic stuffy nose.  While I have most of my energy back after the first trimester {during which I felt like a zombie}, I still don't feel 100% back to my energetic self.  Morning sickness never really hit me, and at this point, it doesn't look like it ever will.  Yippee!

Food Cravings: Fruit of all kinds. Avocados on toast with a little salt. Coconut water.

Food Aversions: Anything smelly.  If it has a strong odor, good or bad, I don't want to be near it {I often leave the room when Mr. Curieuse wants to eat his dinner}.  Also, salads.  Not entirely sure why, since I was craving these like crazy back during weeks 9-11, but I have no interest in them now.

Movement: None that I can discern.

Sleep: I'm usually a sleep-through-the-night kind of person, but since being pregnant I've started waking up in the wee hours of the morning for a little bit.  Luckily, I fall back asleep after  30 minutes or so.

Sex: No idea!  Hopefully we'll find out in two weeks when we have our Week 17 ultrasound.  For the record: I think it's a boy, and Mr. Curieuse thinks its a girl.

What I Miss: COFFEE.  More than anything.  Runners-up include runny egg yolks {eggs benedict!} and sushi.  Shockingly, I have no desire for wine or booze of any kind.  Maybe this little guy/gal will be a teetotaler?

Looking Forward to: finding out whether this little person is a boy or a girl, and getting our second trimester screening results back {probably around 18 weeks}.  Our first trimester screening and nuchal translucency results came back GREAT, so I'm hoping for the same with this final part of the fully integrated screening.